A ladder is used to help people reach places they would not ordinarily be able to reach. Ladders are often used to climb onto roofs of buildings and are used when washing window or painting. In normal use, the bottom portion of the ladder rests on the ground or other surface, and the top end of the ladder typically leans against the building or work surface. The ladder is oriented at an angle which makes it easy for a user to climb up and down the ladder, and also aids in keeping the ladder from slipping.
One problem with ladders, especially when painting or cleaning the exterior of a house, is that there is an amount of lateral instability because the ladder rests on the side of the house with the only contact with the house being a small portion of the siderails of the ladder. When a person on the ladder reaches outside the rails, one rail will sometimes disengage the work surface, or both rails may slide along the work surface, creating an unstable condition. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a ladder that has lateral stability under normal working conditions.
Another problem with typical ladders is that the siderails of the ladder rest on the work surface with a very small contact area which sometimes dents, scrapes or bruises the work surface. It is desirable to have a ladder that contacts the work surface with a broad surface area that does not dent, scrape or mar the work surface.
Another difficulty with ladders is that their width is very narrow when compared to their length which increase the probability of lateral instability. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a ladder that has a large lateral dimension too improve lateral stability.